[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5617-5618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2218]



 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 1995 / 
Notices  
[[Page 5617]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 94-119-2]


Boll Weevil Control Program: Availability of Environmental 
Assessment and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact; Public 
Hearing

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment and 
preliminary finding of no significant impact for a proposed program to 
eradicate the boll weevil in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. A copy 
of the environmental assessment and preliminary finding of no 
significant impact will be made available upon request; comments on the 
documents are welcome. We also are announcing that a public hearing 
will be held to provide a forum to explain findings in the 
environmental assessment, to accept views, and to respond to questions.

DATES: Written comments on the environmental assessment and preliminary 
finding of no significant impact must be received on or before March 1, 
1995. Two public meetings will be held on February 16, 1995, one from 1 
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the other from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Pre-hearing 
registration for oral participation at either hearing may be made by 
mail (postmarked on or before February 8, 1995), or at the hearing site 
on the date of the hearing, beginning one hour prior to each hearing.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the environmental assessment and preliminary 
finding of no significant impact and requests for oral participation at 
the hearings should be mailed to Vicki Wickheiser, Environmental 
Analysis and Documentation, BBEP, APHIS, USDA, room 543, Federal 
Building, 6505 Becrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. The public hearings 
will be held in the Hoblitzelle Auditorium, Texas Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 2415 East Highway 83, Weslaco, TX. Copies of the 
environmental assessment and preliminary finding of no significant 
impact (in English or Spanish) are available for review between 8 a.m. 
and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays, at the APHIS 
Reading Room, room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Persons wishing to inspect those documents 
are requested to call ahead at (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into 
the reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vicki Wickheiser at the address listed 
above or by telephone at (301) 436-8963. Copies of the environmental 
assessment and preliminary finding of no significant impact are 
available in both English and Spanish and may be obtained by contacting 
Ms. Wickheiser, or by calling Plant Protection and Quarantine, Central 
Region Office, at (210) 504-4154.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proposed 
to cooperate in a boll weevil eradication program in the Lower Rio 
Grande Valley of Texas in the counties of Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, 
Starr, and Willacy. The proposed Lower Rio Grande Valley program would 
rely on integrated control methods, including the use of chemicals, on 
cotton crops.
    On November 14, 1994 (59 FR 56458, Docket No. 94-119-1), we gave 
notice of a public meeting to provide a forum for community input on 
health and environmental issues associated with implementation of the 
boll weevil control program. That meeting was held on November 29, 
1994.
    An environmental assessment (EA) is now available that analyzes the 
potential effects of the program's alternatives and actions on the 
quality of the human environment in the valley. The EA considers the 
characteristics of the Lower Rio Grange Valley and focuses on the 
potential effects of chemical pesticides. Because of the presence of 
communities in proximity to cotton fields, certain program 
modifications and some additional protective measures have been 
proposed. Such protective measures are designed to reduce the potential 
for adverse environmental effects. After reviewing the EA, the 
decisionmaker has found preliminarily that no significant impact would 
result from the implementation of the proposed program. This 
preliminary finding, together with the underlying environmental 
assessment, will be made available for public review for a period of 30 
days before a final determination is made concerning the need to 
prepare an environmental impact statement and before the action may 
begin.
    In furtherance of important policy objectives including 
``environmental justice,'' two public hearings have been scheduled to 
provide members of the public with an opportunity to express their 
views or question agency officials regarding the proposed program and 
the EA and preliminary finding of no significant impact. Any interested 
person may appear and may be heard in person, by attorney, or by other 
representative. Persons who wish to speak may register in advance by 
mail (see the ADDRESSES section of this notice), or in person at the 
hearing site. To register by mail, individuals should send a letter or 
postcard with their name and affiliation (e.g., farm worker, grower, or 
academician) and should specify which of the hearings they wish to 
attend, and the approximate length of time needed for their 
presentation and questions. On the day of the hearing, registration at 
the hearing site will begin at noon for the 1 p.m. hearing and at 6 
p.m. for the 7 p.m. hearing. Attendees who do not register in advance 
will be allowed to speak after all scheduled speakers have been heard. 
We ask that anyone who reads a statement provide two copies to the 
presiding officer at the hearing. The presiding officer may limit the 
time for each presentation in order to allow everyone wishing to speak 
the opportunity to be heard.
    The substance of this notice will be published in the newspapers 
(English and Spanish) serving the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

    [[Page 5618]] Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of January 
1995.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-2218 Filed 1-27-95; 8:45 am]
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